I wasn't going to comment on the subject of immigration. I didn't feel qualified and I didn't know exactly how I felt on the subject. However, I am a big fan of finding out what your opinion actually is by having a reaction to someone else's. I have had a reaction to someone close to me's strong opinion that immigrants are criminals who should be sent back home. I disagree. I disagree that "illegal" immigrants are criminals. For one, that would make pretty much all of our ancestors criminals. Unless of course you are Native American and then, well, you should feel free to kick us out on our mostly white heinies.
What I think is more criminal than someone coming here for a better way of life (and the better way of life they find here is certainly not what most of us would consider even livable) is the people who already live here and pay no attention to their rights and priviliges. How many people voted in the last election? How many people born here are abusing the system to keep up their own way of life? When was the last time you howed a row, picked an apple, or bussed a table? Are these the jobs you are looking for?
I do agree that there should be some kind of checks and balances. Obviously the system isn't right as it stands now. People are paying into a system of benefits that they will never see. People legally here can't find jobs at good wages. I don't think anyone should be benefiting from the many, well, benefits of living in the US - public schools, health care, transportation, what have you, without paying into it in some way. But this includes the really, really rich US born and bred people as well. How many of them know how to work the system to get what they want and keep getting more?
The arguments for and against immigration are all very gray to me. I do want to know who is in this country. At the same time, we already have laws in place that aren't being enforced. What would happen if we actually enforced the laws we have? Maybe those laws suck. I don't know. I bet some of those same people who want to kick out all the undocumented works are also against a national ID. "Tell me where the "brown" people are but don't you dare try to track my movements! I'm an Amerkin!"
I don't think the answer is to seal off our borders. I don't think the answer is to ship everyone back to where they came from either. I'm not going to find the answer with this blog entry and neither are you. I think it's important to talk about though.
Here is an article on the subject from the Onion. It probably won't help you too much either.
I never said Big Girl Underoos was a place to learn anything.
What I think is more criminal than someone coming here for a better way of life (and the better way of life they find here is certainly not what most of us would consider even livable) is the people who already live here and pay no attention to their rights and priviliges. How many people voted in the last election? How many people born here are abusing the system to keep up their own way of life? When was the last time you howed a row, picked an apple, or bussed a table? Are these the jobs you are looking for?
I do agree that there should be some kind of checks and balances. Obviously the system isn't right as it stands now. People are paying into a system of benefits that they will never see. People legally here can't find jobs at good wages. I don't think anyone should be benefiting from the many, well, benefits of living in the US - public schools, health care, transportation, what have you, without paying into it in some way. But this includes the really, really rich US born and bred people as well. How many of them know how to work the system to get what they want and keep getting more?
The arguments for and against immigration are all very gray to me. I do want to know who is in this country. At the same time, we already have laws in place that aren't being enforced. What would happen if we actually enforced the laws we have? Maybe those laws suck. I don't know. I bet some of those same people who want to kick out all the undocumented works are also against a national ID. "Tell me where the "brown" people are but don't you dare try to track my movements! I'm an Amerkin!"
I don't think the answer is to seal off our borders. I don't think the answer is to ship everyone back to where they came from either. I'm not going to find the answer with this blog entry and neither are you. I think it's important to talk about though.
Here is an article on the subject from the Onion. It probably won't help you too much either.
I never said Big Girl Underoos was a place to learn anything.
Comments
i think if we're going to shut borders and crack down on illegal
immigration, particularly from mexico and south america, we need to look at nafta and the trade agreement of the americas. people are jumping the border in mexico where they're working in sweatshops for $5 a day -- and the u.s. is happy to import their cheap products -- to do day labor in the states for $3/hr with no workman's comp or union protection. it's not much of an improvement, but it's an improvement.
i promise you, i wouldn't have taken a job getting rid of lead paint for
landlords in trouble at $20/day with no protective gear or health insurance, and there are no illegal immigrants from mexico getting master's degrees at major universities and graduating into $35,000/year jobs with great benefits in front of me.
when i've gone looking to work in a coffee shop or to wash dishes, i've never had a problem finding work.
if we're going to insist on not allowing these people better working and living conditions in the u.s., we need to stop encouraging employers in their home countries to keep the terrible conditions by allowing their products to come across our borders. if you make it attractive for people to stay in mexico or belize or wherever, they won't risk their lives trying to make it to the u.s.
at least with cuba, we have a wet foot-dry foot policy. maybe we could have an employment-welfare rolls policy with immigrants from other countries. that seems like it will fly long before we see changes made to treaties.
I know my grandparents came over to the country by Ellis Island from Poland and learned the language and worked their butts off to be here. And loved this country and would never speak badly of it.
Some of these people who hate Americans and hate this country and sit around doing nothing and don't learn the language, yes they need to go back! But the others who are doing jobs we would never do for crap money.... It's very touchy subject
So far, that entry only got one comment, but it was a lengthy one, and I'm still trying to digest it.
I just don't think there's any way to deal with this issue that's going to be clean cut and solve the problem perfectly. I think shipping them all back to their native countries isn't feasible, that's for sure. Neither is amnesty.
I have some ideas of my own, but of course, I have no real understanding of how reasonable those would be to implement. And that's really why I don't bother bringing them up.